In the field of animal husbandry, it is well known that many pet owners are emotionally attached to their pets. It is also well known that the loss of a pet can be a traumatic experience for its owners. At least one factor adding to the traumatization of the pet owner is the handling of the animal after it has been euthanized or has otherwise deceased. Many pet owners often desire to take their deceased animal to a pet cemetery for burial or crematorium for cremation. If a pet deceases at home, a pet owner may desire to transport the animal to a veterinarian. In either case, it is often necessary to transport the animal after it has died.
It is well known that, after an animal has died, the body fluids begin leaking from the animal. Therefore, in order to transport a dead animal, the animal must first be placed into a receptacle to contain the fluids. Prior to the present invention, deceased animals have been placed in boxes, garbage bags, or the like for transporting and disposing the animals. However, it is not desirable for some to place their animal in such a receptacle because it is not aesthetically pleasing.
Other pet receptacles have been produced for various purposes. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following table of U.S. and Canadian patents:
______________________________________ PAT. NO. ISSUED TO ISSUE DATE ______________________________________ 3,842,454 J. P. Young Oct 22, 1974 3,997,948 K. P. Hicks, et al. Dec 21, 1976 4,169,428 D. C. Waugh Oct 2, 1979 4,995,345 H. G. Friedman Feb 26, 1991 5,060,597 C. P. Fredericks Oct 29, 1991 628,296 (Can.) A. M. Bossett Oct 3, 1961 ______________________________________
Of these patents, only the U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,948 patent discloses a device (the '948 device) for the burial of a deceased animal. The '948 device is a modular pet burial casket. However, the use of such a device may prove to be cost prohibitive for many people. Further, the construction and size of the casket may make transport of the animal difficult for one person.
The other cited prior art devices are directed toward bag-type receptacles used as bags for transporting a live animal (Canadian Patent No. 628,296), as animal sleeping bags (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,842,454 and 4,169,428), or as enclosures for treating an animal with selected pesticides (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,995,345 and 5,060,597). None of these devices provides a means whereby fluids which may drain or leak from the animal may be retained.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means for transporting a deceased animal such that the fluids of the animal may be retained during transport.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device wherein a deceased animal may be received for transportation, burial, or cremation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a means wherein a deceased animal may be cremated while the cremated receptacle itself leaves a minimal amount of residue.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device which may be used to place an animal to be euthanized thereupon such that once euthanized, the animal need not be moved to a transporting, burial, or crematory receptacle.